Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Dick, Philip. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Toronto, Canada: The Random House Publishing Group, 1968. Print. is a novel by Philip K. Dick which takes place on Earth after World War Terminus has caused the extinction of several animal species and thinned out the Human Population. The rise of Androids as workers on the now colonized planet Mars, and the dangers they pose, have given rise to bounty hunters on Earth. Summary In a futuristic post-apocalyptic world, humans have developed ‘androids’ to serve their needs. Some escape their fates and blend into everyday society. The new model of android, dubbed the ‘Nexus-6’ is provided with complex personas that make it difficult to discern them from actual human beings. Rick Deckard, an android bounty hunter, tracks and hunts down these renegade fugitives. Humans are separated from androids by measuring the level of empathy the subject feels. Deckard meets an android named Rachel and begins to question his feelings towards ‘non-humans’. The plot also follows a man named John Isidore, who fell victim to nuclear radiation and is now considered a 'chickenhead', or an outsider to the community. Working for an animal repair shop, Isidore befriends a group of androids and provides them with temporary shelter. Deckard, while married, falls in love with Rachel and sleeps with her before eventually ‘retiring’ all the fugitive androids. Tired and distraught, Rick travels away from the city and has an emotional experience before finding an artificial toad. He brings the toad home before realizing it is not real. Themes 1. Real versus Unreal The novel focuses the distinction between what is real and what is not. Throughout the novel, the reader sees that the lines between real versus unreal are blurred. The dichotomy is best shown through looking at Mercerism and the empathy box. The reader and characters within the novel first see that Mercerism is something that one can experience only through the use of the empathy box. The empathy box mediates the users experiences through mind control and controlling the users actions. As the novel progresses, the characters begin to see signs of Mercerism in real life. Rick Deckard shows this towards the end when he ventures off to the hills and “sees” Mercer in front of him, even though he doesn’t exist. Examples: http://engl278wf2010.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/end-of-do-androids-dream-of-electric-sheep-2/ 2. Empathy Throughout the novel, Rick Deckard explores his own meaning of life and toys with the idea that empathy shows that one is considered a human being versus an android or a special. At the start of the novel, Rick, a bounty hunter, shows very little empathy as his sole purpose in life is to “retire” the remainder of the android species left of Earth. At this point in time, the android species shows more empathy than Rick, which creates confusion among the readers definition of what it means to be human and the distinction between real versus unreal. As he progresses, Rick begins to show empathy and see its importance for human life. This is present towards the end when he returns home to his wife instead of killing himself. Adaptation thumb|300px|right There are several differences between Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and the Ridley Scott's 1982 film adaptation, Blade RunnerScott, Riddley, Dir. Blade Runner. Dir. Scott Riddley." Perf. Harrison, Ford. Warner Brothers: 1982, Film''. Many of Dick's themes like religion, mass media, Rick Deckard's marriage, the duality of Rachel and Pris, and synthetic animals are not present in the film adaptation. Rick Deckard, who is portrayed by Harrison Ford in the film is different compared to how he is portrayed in ''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Deckard's struggle with his own humanity is not as emphasized in the film. http://www.phildick.com/Blade_Runner. Sources Category:Literature